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Well, today is Bert’s 98th birthday. He is getting excited about the trip. We were awakened by a call from Luggage forward, to make arrangements for luggage pick up. For me trivia like how many countries we will visit, which is 26. Currently there are 195. This means we will see 13% of the worlds countries on this trip. My goal is to visit all the continents before I die. After this trip I will need to visit Antarctica and Africa to complete my goal, and this seems realistic. I think Im going to begin making a list of the 195 countries and see how many I’ve visited. Since our last post I have ordered a case for Bert’s wheelchair, checked on our additional visa application, finished everything as far as travel reservations except car rental, and begun packing. I think now that we have had our first frost we will begin packing since we won’t need our warm weather clothing until the trip. I plan on doing a bit of shopping while in Seattle, but prefer clothing that has a memory attached. We need clothing for gala and our week in Seattle, so that will need to pack separate from what we ship. Wow, it seems real.

Bert had a mishap and I was concerned the trip was in jeopardy. He had a spectacular fall and fractured his pelvis in 3 spots and his tailbone in one. They recommended rehab for 30 days. We opted to do it at home, and as you can see two weeks later Bert was on his way to 100%.

We got our first visa this week, 3 to go. I had my initial
travel medicine interview and have my travel vaccine appointment scheduled and Berts the next day. I continue to work through the list and my concern now is do we need another suitcase?

I’ve been excited from the day we booked. Bert is finally realizing the reality. He is starting to think about clothes.

I have never taken a World Cruise so this was a big question. I also think this is a very personal question, as no two people are alike. While I have read about people taking a dozen or more suitcases, that is not my style, even if I had enough to fill a dozen suitcases. The other extreme is take a backpack and throw in a few basic items. This is my style if I’m backpacking but not for cruising. The basic strategy I have decided is to pack as if I am going on a two week cruise, and relax, enjoy and bring an extra suitcase in case I find purchases along the way. I need to take a wheelchair and a walker for Bert. This will be the first time He has needed these items, but I want him to enjoy and not be worn out. The cruise company will ship two bags each so I will see if I can arrange Bert’s wheel chair as one of his bags, and take the walker on the plane.

Here is a list of items I have found to be useful outside of clothes. Both Bert and I have hanging toiletries bags and these keep the bathroom neater. My friend Scott introduced us to these. Ziplock bags are useful and I usually take 3. This trip I plan on taking 6 each. They are useful for beach trips. I like being able to see and so I will get another pair of glasses and a prescription snorkel mask. There is nothing more frustrating than going snorkeling and not being able to see the fish. I also don’t like using someone else’s mask. I have dry pouches for our phones. I have the clips for our beach chairs to keep towels in place. I have pink flamingos and Bert has clown fish. I got Turkish beach towels and put them in a day pack. We will not be identified as tourist as easily and they are absorbent. We have a dry erase board so if we are not on the same tour and opt to go someplace we can let each other know where we are. I also got an adapter so I can plug in multiple electronic devices. I’ve checked out the library onboard ship and plan on bringing a kindle, iPad, phone, and may purchase a laptop. I am also purchasing a GoPro. I am decorating the cabin with some magnetic frames with family pictures. I’ll also get some magnetic clips. I’m interested if you are reading this and have traveled what items you are glad you brought.

As we finished the baseball trip we had a World Cruise planned, but Bert had a sore throat and we went to the doctor for the third time in a year. He sent up to a throat specialist and we learned within the next 48 hours that Bert had throat cancer. The oncologist said because of Bert’s age she was reluctant to treat him, she said we should consider sailing off into the sunset. I asked Bert what he wanted, and he said I want to live. I plan on having a 100 year birthday party. We canceled the cruise and began the focus on saving Bert. The doctor said there was a 50/50 chance of survival. We had Bert’s birthday party and friends and family came together to celebrate Bert’s life. The next day Bert began radiation. He was a trooper. We had support from friends and family and even our beloved San Francisco Giants. We decided to sell our condo and took off to spring training. We went to all the Giants home games. Bert said there were 3 places he would live New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC. After spring training we decided to check out DC and New York and decide where to go. We were headed toward DC and learned Gina Nibbi had an offer on our condominium. We accepted and decided we better figure out where to live. We ventured from Phoenix to DC and began looking at condominiums. We found a condo two blocks from the ballpark with a river view and fell in love with the Navy Yard. We placed an offer and it was accepted, but we couldn’t get in for two months. We began exploring DC and got Nationals season tickets. Shortly after our daughter was accepted into law school at American University in DC.

San Francisco Chronicle article on our trip
We decided at 93 it was time Bert enjoyed his bucket list. We spent 2014 going to 81 baseball games for the SF Giants. Oh, did I mention that we went on 81 road games, and the Giants won the World Series. We made many friends along the way. Bert got to fulfill his dream of living the life of a ball player, and I got to see my first World Series. The Giants made us feel like superstars. They gave us a jersey autographed by the entire team. They allowed us to sit with the players families during the playoff road games. Larry Baer invited us to sit with his family. It was a dream come true.